I view my work, first and foremost, as sharing stories and promoting inclusive narratives. Therefore, I produce media, both written or audio, on a variety of topics – interfaith, spirituality, social justice, public affairs, media literacy, and more. My writings usually appear in local papers and on multiple blogs, and audio interviews are often found on WYCE or WGVU, but all articles, interviews, and podcast episodes are all compiled here.

The conversation spanned as many topics – both in breadth and depth – as Joe & I’s conversations usually do, and I think it stands as an interesting marker for interfaith engagement in this particular historical/political moment. Below are some of the themes we explored, and you can listen to the interview here.

What is the point of interfaith?

How do we create conditions for authentic dialogue?

The unique context of faith & interfaith in West Michigan

The role of interfaith in American politics today

Focusing not only on building common ground, but recognizing our inevitable common life

Interfaith Youth Core and Eboo Patel’s national leadership in the interfaith movement

Intersectionality of identity and how it has enriched interfaith spaces

The trend of the Rise of the ‘Nones’ and the role of non-religious people in interfaith

My Catholic upbringing, why I do interfaith, and my admiration for Carl Sagan & Dorothy Day

Living our faith our in public – “public theology reimagined”

The way we talk about and represent narratives around religion in media and news

“Powerful things are built in troubled times,” Eboo Patel reminded the crowd of hundreds of college students. I was at a gathering with student interfaith leaders from across the country, and we were hungry for words of inspiration from Patel, the founder and director of Interfaith Youth Core. Convened in Atlanta, Georgia for an Interfaith Leadership Institute in late January, the tone of the conference and his keynote had a darker, more urgent tone than usual.
The three-day interfaith leadership training took place during a tumultuous weekend: it began on the Friday that the first Presidential Order banning travel from Muslim-majority countries was signed into effect, and it ended on a Sunday when six Muslims were shot and killed in their Mosque in Quebec City, Canada.

While these events took place over a month ago, the trend of violence has continued. On Feb. 22, an Indian-American man was shot and murdered in a bar outside of Kansas City, Kansas, after having “Get out of my country” yelled at him. On March 3, a Sikh-American man was getting out of his car, in his home’s driveway outside of Seattle, Washington, when a gunman approached him, saying “Go back to your own country,” then shot him in the arm. On March 10, a man in St. Lucie, Florida, attempted to burn a store down in order to ‘run the Arabs out of our country,’ presuming the owners of Indian descent to be Muslim.

In all three of these instances, it becomes clear that not just Muslims, but also those perceived to be Muslim, are experiencing stereotyping, violence and discrimination that reveals the troubled times of our country. For those who are religiously, ethnically, or racially marginalized by the hostile rhetoric and policies perpetuated in our public sphere, the threat is significant: safety, well-being, and livelihood are on the line.

However, as Patel reminded us, powerful things are built in troubled times such as these. Both locally and nationally, inspiring coalitions of support and solidarity are popping up, built on interfaith networks and communities that have existed for years.

In Grand Rapids, our college and university campuses are hosting Solidarity Dinners, meant to encourage dialogue and action around principles of solidarity. At Grand Valley State University’s Dinner, students from various worldviews expressed their shared values, and encouraged the 200-plus attendees to write cards of support to local mosques and refugee families. The cards were then hand-delivered to those in our community who have been targets of misunderstanding and hostility.

And across the country, a new campaign was just launched by Auburn Seminary, the Groundswell Movement, and the Sikh Coalition, stating that “when hate targets our neighbors, we stand together in solidarity.” Written as a petition, particularly to “Our Muslim and Jewish Siblings,” the letter outlines how faith communities are experiencing increased threats of violence in the streets and in their houses of worship under an administration that targets and marginalizes religious minorities. The petition encourages communities to do just what West Michigan students are already doing: display acts of solidarity to those marginalized in one’s community through letters of support and showing up for one another.

Locally and nationally, these examples show we can counter the hateful rhetoric and violent incidents in our daily actions and immediate community.

The strength in these responses comes from the broad-based alliance they inherently create. When violence and discrimination affects multiple faith communities, the response must be in-kind. Through a coalition-response, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Christians, Baha’is, Hindus, and all others unite around the shared concern of loving our neighbors. After all, loving thy neighbor is about more than common ground, it is a way to embrace the common life we share in America.

Here’s such a lovely reflection based on a conversation jem & I had last week – love the way she distilled our conversation into the following:

“We have reached a moment in our public landscape in which the “I” interfaith leaders will quickly feel devastatingly alone or completely exhausted, and probably both. The interfaith movement is at a true “we” moment- a time when it needs to be acceptable and encouraged for us to ask each other to do things like march on the front lines, speak publicly against bigotry, or give money to civil rights organizations.”

Last week my friend Katie Gordon visited Boston so of course we had to get dinner and catch up. I showed Katie around campus, took her to the LGBTQ Resource Center to see our mutual friend and colleague Lee, and after a quick tour of our Sacred Space, we wandered over to Newbury Street. We stopped in Trident Books and mused over some titles, mainly discussing what had been happening on our respective campuses. We nerded out about a few particular books, mostly related to feminism and/or religion. Finally, we sat down to a delicious South Asian dinner.

PC: Samantha Sophia

Katie is the Program Manager for the Kaufman Interfaith Institute at Grand Valley State University in Grand Valley, Michigan. She identifies as secular, but make no mistake- Katie is one of the most influential interfaith leaders of our time. She trains for the Interfaith Youth Core’s Interfaith Leadership Institutes…